by William A. Donohue
(Catalyst 10/1996)
In August, Cardinal Bernardin along with eight bishops and 17 other Catholic leaders met to discuss the possibility of reaching common ground between various factions within the Church. On August 12 the Chicago Sun-Times published an exchange between Call to Action president Linda Pleczynski and William Donohue,... [Read more...]

The movie Sleepers, based on the book by Lorenzo Carcaterra, opened on October 18 to a protest by the Catholic League. The Propaganda Films movie (a Warner Brothers company) purports to be a true story about a New York Catholic school, Sacred Heart. However, virtually every independent person who has investigated the story has determined that the book... [Read more...]

We spend much of our time at the Catholic League fighting double standards: there seems to be one set of rules for those who are not Catholic and another for those who are. Nowhere is this more true than in the old battleground of politics and religion.
On September 22, Rev. Al Sharpton formally announced that he wanted to be the next mayor of New York.... [Read more...]

In the fall edition of “Animal Times,” People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sharply criticized the Boys Town National Research Hospital for doing research on animals; the hospital received nearly $3 million in U.S. grants for experiments on cats. What the Catholic League objected to is the opening statement in the article entitled,... [Read more...]

MTV’s “Ren and Stimpy Show” features a animated character known as Powdered Toast Man (PTM). The program of September 19 showed PTM rescuing the Pope from being blown up by dynamite. PTM flies away from the bomb with the Pope clinging desperately to his back. Noticing that the Pope is slipping away, PTM tells the Pope, “Quick,... [Read more...]

William Donohue attended the preview of the off-Broadway play, Late Night Cathechism, and issued the following remarks to the press:
“Late Night Cathechism continues the artistic assault on Roman Catholicism by ridiculing virtually every aspect of Catholicism. Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the Saints, the sacraments, Catholic schools, Catholic customs–nothing... [Read more...]

The Smithsonian Institute recently invited artist Andres Serrano to begin Hispanic Heritage Month. Serrano is most known for his artistic contribution of placing a crucifix in a jar of his own urine, an enterprise that was funded with federal money. Bill Donohue wrote the following letter of protest over this issue.
September 18, 1996
Mr. David Umansky
Communications... [Read more...]

On September 17, the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City formally announced that it would divest the Archdiocese of all stock in the Walt Disney Corporation. The decision by Archbishop Eusebius J. Beltran cited the work of the Catholic League: “This action has been taken in light of recent actions which we consider not only blatantly anti-Catholic but... [Read more...]

Last month’s Catalyst carried a story about the Asia Society’s new exhibition, “Contemporary Art in Asia: Traditions/Tensions.” It was the display of House of Sin that led to a protest by the league. This contribution to Asian culture, and now ours, depicts a drunken Catholic cleric holding a chalice; a dead boy appears next... [Read more...]

Grimsley High School, part of the Guilford County Schools in Greensboro, North Carolina, offended area Catholics by assigning a book to students that treats Catholicism in a despicable fashion. Dr. Donohue wrote a letter explaining the league’s position. He made it clear that while he recognized the legal right of school authorities to assign... [Read more...]